tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38229942578824325832024-02-06T20:42:44.515-08:00London CasualsBluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-80986616630885136882013-05-11T02:51:00.000-07:002013-05-11T02:51:04.007-07:00'I almost cried I was so upset with myself' – Samir Nasri hard on himself this season<b>Samir Nasri has admitted some of his performances for Manchester City have not been good enough, with certain moments making him want to cry.</b><br />The French midfielder has often struggled for the form he showed at Arsenal since moving to City nearly two years ago, and was heavily criticised by manager Roberto Mancini earlier this year.<br /><br />It was initially suggested Nasri had disagreed with the Italian's assessment of him, but in the build-up to todays FA Cup Final - which a now-on-song Nasri is expected to be involved in - the 25-year-old claims he understood Mancinis comments.<br /><br />Speaking to The Times he said: "I didn't take it the wrong way. I agreed with him. I knew. Sometimes I don't need him to tell me because I'm professional. When I go home, I watch the games again.<br /><br />"I know if I've played well or if I've played s*** and for eight months I wasn't good. I understand what the manager was saying, because it must be frustrating when you have a quality player and he doesn't perform and you don't know why because you try to play him there, play him there, but he still doesn't perform.<br /><br />"So at some point you have no choice but to put him on the bench and you go to the press to try to get a reaction. And it worked.<br /><br />"Before, I wasn't very good at accepting public criticism. But he (Mancini) just wants the best from his players on the pitch because he has to win. If he doesn't, he gets fired."<br /><br />One particular incident which drew criticism was Nasri`s decision to turn his back on a Robin van Persie free-kick during December's Manchester derby.<br /><br />City had recovered from 2-0 to be level but, as Nasri turned away, the ball went where he would have been and on into the goal.<br /><br />"I don't know what went through my head," Nasri said of that moment. "I don't know how many times I was thinking about it afterwards. Eventually I had to turn off the TV. My dad said, 'Why are you scared of the ball, do you think it's going to burn you or something?'<br /><br />"At the time I almost cried I was so upset with myself. How could you do that? It was a derby and with a draw we'd have stayed a few points behind them but they won it and it was a big moment in the title race."Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-993973278408845492013-05-11T02:47:00.000-07:002013-05-11T02:47:26.984-07:00Man United's Scholes to follow Ferguson into retirement<b>Man United will bid farewell not only to their iconic manager next week,
but also one of their most iconic modern day footballers as Paul
Scholes is expected to retire for the second time, reports <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/manchester-united-paul-scholes-also-1881268" target="_blank"><i>The Mirror</i></a>.</b>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-41812638139521948952013-05-11T02:46:00.001-07:002013-05-11T02:46:26.747-07:00Jose Mourinho rejected Manchester United offer<b>Portuguese press say Jose Mourinho rejected Manchester United five-year deal due to family reasons</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.record.xl.pt/Futebol/Internacional/real_madrid/interior_premium.aspx?content_id=820788" target="_blank">According to Portuguese newspaper Record</a>, David Moyes was only the Old Trafford club’s second choice after the Real Madrid manager declined an offer.<br />
<br />
It claims Manchester United officials had a five-year contract ready
to offer to Mourinho but he declined for family reasons, so the Premier
League champions then turned to their next choice in David Moyes.<br />
<br />
Mourinho has been heavily linked with a return to his old club
Chelsea this summer and the report claims his desire to relocate his
family to London was behind turning down the offer from Old Trafford.<br />
<br />
Sir Alex Ferguson announced he would be retiring from his post after 26 years on Wednesday, with <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/david-moyes-and-jose-mourinho-among-contenders-to-replace-alex-ferguson-at-manchester-united-8607044.html" target="_blank">both Mourinho and Moyes cited as possible candidates</a> to succeed him in the immediate aftermath.<br />
<br />
The Everton boss was eventually announced as the next Manchester
United manager on Thursday afternoon, with the club and Ferguson
claiming he was their number one choice.Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-28659340331181239012013-05-11T02:44:00.003-07:002013-05-11T02:44:58.535-07:00Chelsea Closest to Signing Wayne Rooney<b>With the appointment of Everton boss David Moyes at Manchester United, Red Devils are in danger of losing one of their stars in Wayne Rooney. Numerous clubs are interested in signing the ex Evertonian forward and it seems that Chelsea are perhaps the closest to sign the England International.</b><br /><br />Tensions between Rooney and his former boss are inevitable and Abramovich is ready to pounce on the opportunity of signing one of the best players in the league. Rumors suggest that Arsenal have shown interest as well but Rooney will most likely prefer a move to Stamford Bridge.<br /><br />Jose Mourinho is expected to leave Real Madrid and take over at Chelsea once the season ends. The Portuguese tactician is a long term admirer of Wayne Rooney and will be granted funds to lure the United forward much to the delight of Chelsea faithful if the deal goes through.<br /><br />The only dilemma for Chelsea which is not a bad one is that they have so many play makers around such as the likes of Mata, Oscar, Hazard etc. and what they actually need is an out and out striker. Adding to that, the blues are also close to signing Leverkusen forward Andre Schurrle.<br /><br />Having so many stars at disposal, Abramovich may still be ready to sanction a deal for Rooney as the owner and fans are desperate to snatch the premier league title from the grabs of Manchester clubs.<br /><br />Rooney has enjoyed his best days in the red shirt of Manchester United having won it all. United must do all to persuade him to stay but working with his ex-manager after the controversial remarks he made about him plus the different proposals in front of him are likely to weigh more.<br /><br />Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and French giants Paris Saint-Germain are also reportedly keen on signing the England forward but staying in his homeland may as well be Rooney’s priority and thus Chelsea appear as leading the race to sign him.<br /><br />Mourinho and Rooney at Chelsea will be an exciting prospect for the club and its supporters and it might just be the combination that will help the blues win the title next season.<br /><br />For Manchester United, they will have to sign a world class replacement if Rooney does depart. A potential return for Cristiano Ronaldo seems unlikely for now. Nevertheless, they will have enough funds from Rooney’s sale to sign a top quality forward.<br />
<br />
http://soccerisma.com/2013/05/chelsea-closest-to-signing-wayne-rooney/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chelsea-closest-to-signing-wayne-rooneyBluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-72925373046866795082013-03-24T03:24:00.001-07:002013-03-24T03:24:43.219-07:00Benzema's anthem snub riles National Front<strong>France’s far-right National Front party have demanded French
international striker Karim Benzema be barred from playing for the
national team after he insisted he would not sing the French national
anthem before matches.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong> </strong>The far right National Front party has demanded that
Benzema, 25, who plays for Real Madrid in Spain, be sacked from the
French national team for declaring he had never sung the French national
anthem - the Marseillaise before an international game, and would
continue not to.<br /><br />Eric Domard – sporting advisor to National
Front leader Marine LePen – said in a statement on Tuesday that
“[Benzema] shows an inconceivable and unacceptable contempt for the
jersey he has the fortune to be able to wear.”<br /><br />Labeling him a
“footballing mercenary paid €1484 an hour,” Domard further declared that
“since Karim Benzema sees no problem with not singing the Marseillaise,
the French people should have no problem with him not playing for
France anymore.”<strong> </strong><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<strong><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.thelocal.fr/page/view/national-front-fury-over-benzema-anthem-refusal#.UU4hfxfCZ8E" target="_blank">link</a></span></strong>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-58103191409555966672013-03-24T03:12:00.005-07:002013-03-24T03:12:58.761-07:00Hero or Villain: Greg Dyke <b>Ex-BBC TV DG to FA. Lovers of acronyms across the country will no doubt be cheering the news that Greg Dyke is to be the next chairman of the Football Association.</b><br /><br />As for the rest of us? Surely Joseph Barton, that great sage of the modern game, summed up popular opinion when he offered via Twitter, "What the fuck does Greg Dyke know about football? Yet, another bureaucrat, placed in a position way to [sic] large for his domain expertise ... Football needs football people right now." Well, quite.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/hero-or-villain-greg-dyke-8547013.html" target="_blank">link</a></span>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-3165854637249227702013-03-24T01:50:00.000-07:002013-03-24T01:50:02.497-07:00Mourinho hints at stunning Chelsea return as Madrid boss ponders next move<b>Jose Mourinho has hinted he may return to one of his former clubs,
claiming his next move could be to "somewhere I've already been".</b><br />
<br />
The Portuguese's future has been the subject of speculation despite leading Real Madrid to the Primera Division title last term and the fact they are still going strong in the Champions League this season.<br /><br />Mourinho won two Premier League crowns in three years with Chelsea before leaving in 2007 and has often been linked with a return to Stamford Bridge, where there will be a vacancy in the summer when interim boss Rafael Benitez departs.<br /><br />And, speaking at the opening of an exhibition in Setubal, Mourinho did little to dampen such talk.<br /><br />The former Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan coach was quoted by Football Italia as saying: "I have an adventurous spirit and do not know what will happen next season.<b> </b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.football365.com/chelsea/8593899/Mourinho-drops-hint-over-return" target="_blank">link</a></span></b>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-79582991275739812972013-03-24T01:42:00.003-07:002013-03-24T01:42:47.662-07:00Manchester City fan banned for using electronic cigarette<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Football stewards are renowned for being a touch heavy-handed and pedantic</b><br /><br />However, stewards at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium have surpassed themselves for taking away the season ticket of a fan they believed to be smoking, when the guy was simply chuffing on a perfectly legal electronic cigarette.<br /><br />The fan explains the story below:<br /><br /> I was on the concourse at half-time having a drink with a few mates. I took a drag of it and was asked by security to come into a room. I just thought I was going to be asked to explain what it was.<br /><br /> I was told they were banned and asked for my season card which I handed over. I was then escorted out of the ground by police.<br /><br />However, it appears that City offer warnings that e-cigarettes should also not be smoked in the ground. So despite there being no evident reason for such a rule, that might be that. With only a few games left and the title race over, maybe it was a deliberate ploy?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.offthepost.info/blog/2013/03/manchester-city-fan-banned-for-using-electronic-cigarette/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+offthepost%2FTLAa+%28Off+The+Post%29" target="_blank">link</a></span>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-6122156535687333342013-03-24T01:37:00.002-07:002013-03-24T01:37:24.424-07:00Plans at exhibition show how landscape would radically alter <b><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The
pictures show that the scheme, which could potentially have ten tall
towers the tallest of which would be 14 storeys high, would radically
alter the landscape for residents in Chiswick. </span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The
Football Club is planning to move from its existing stadium at Griffin
Park to a new purpose built ground close by. The plans being developed
will provide a modern 20,000 capacity stadium and they hope to have it
completed by 2015. According to Saturday's Daily Telegraph, London Wasps
are in discussing with the Brentford F.C. about a ground share at the
stadium. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&page=brentfordstadiumpics001.htm" target="_blank">link</a> </span>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-31650442497474877522013-03-24T01:36:00.000-07:002013-03-24T01:36:04.023-07:00NEW GLASSES SHOW HOW GOOD A FOOTBALL FAN YOU ARE<b>Scientists have invented glasses which show how good a football fan you are. We sent STEVE HUGHES to the Championship clash between Charlton and Millwall – with former England boss Graham Taylor in tow – to investigate.</b><br /><br />Wearing a massive pair of specs attached to a laptop, while sitting next to one of the most famous faces in football in a stadium of 18,000 fans, I felt a tad self-conscious.<br /><br />But however silly the equipment I was wearing looked, there can be no denying its technological brilliance.<br /><br />The glasses track tiny movements in your cornea – the part of the eye which does the focusing – and records on to the laptop, inset, exactly where your eyes are looking.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/305189/" target="_blank">link</a></span>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-39778931539290782462013-03-24T01:34:00.002-07:002013-03-24T01:34:17.707-07:00Olympics deal ‘is a pig’s ear’<h3>
A DEAL to allow West Ham Football Club to move into the Olympic
Stadium should be ripped up because taxpayers will be paying for it for
years to come, it was claimed last night. </h3>
<h3>
The Hammers are set to move into the east London venue after it was
agreed the club would pay just £15million towards the estimated cost of
£190million to refurbish the stadium, making it a suitable venue for
football matches and athletics.</h3>
<h3>
The rest of the bill will be met by taxpayers.</h3>
<h3>
<a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/386542/Olympics-deal-is-a-pig-s-ear?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-uk-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+UK+Feed%29" target="_blank">link</a> </h3>
Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-9798600332873663412013-03-23T04:56:00.001-07:002013-03-23T04:56:37.409-07:00England fan in coma after bar fight in Italy <b>An England football fan has been arrested in connection with a fight outside an Italian pub ahead of the match against San Marino that left another England fan in a coma.</b><br /><br />Police said a 65-year-old man defended himself with a bar stool in a fight, was punched, fell and hit his head. He is now in an induced coma and his condition was described as “very serious”.<br /><br />A 21-year-old man was arrested. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We can confirm the arrest of a British national in Italy on 21 March.”Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-19174774081164159832013-03-23T04:46:00.001-07:002013-03-23T04:46:43.386-07:00Best News I have had in a long time<h1 class="headline">
Chelsea transfers: Atlético’s Simeone hints at summer move for Torres</h1>
<h1 class="headline">
</h1>
<h2 class="standfirst">
Chelsea transfers: Atlético boss Diego Simeone hints at a summer move to bring Fernando Torres back to the Vicente Calderón</h2>
<h2 class="standfirst">
<a href="http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2013/03/chelsea-transfers-atleticos-simeone-hints-at-summer-move-for-torres/" target="_blank">link</a> </h2>
Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-49972151342483398402013-03-23T04:41:00.004-07:002013-03-23T04:41:47.803-07:00Club statement on recent events<span>Statement on behalf of Coventry City Football Club (Holdings) Ltd</span><br />
<span> </span>
<br />
<div id="articleContent">
<div id="articleContentWrapper">
<span><div>
<div>
<strong>As fans will know, Coventry City Football Club Limited was placed into administration on Thursday.</strong></div>
<div>
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div>
This
subsidiary of the Club held the lease and licence for the Ricoh Arena.
This covered the permission to play home matches at the stadium as well
as the rental of the Club shop and the Club offices.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Given
this subsidiary is now in administration, the Club has taken the
decision to protect its staff by moving them from the stadium to the
training ground at Ryton, before finding a more permanent base.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/article/club-statement-230313-730062.aspx" target="_blank">link</a> </span></div>
</div>
</span></div>
</div>
Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-81795634046381403292013-03-23T04:39:00.003-07:002013-03-23T04:39:29.297-07:00David Beckham dodges China corruption questions <span class="storyTop ">
</span>
<b>David Beckham continued his tour of China in his role of “global
ambassador” for the country’s youth football and Super League in Qingdao
insisting he was not there to help clean up the sport in the country. </b><br />
<br />
<br />
After arriving flanked by suited officials, the former England
captain signed autographs and had a brief kickabout – still wearing his
shirt, tie and shiny formal shoes – with students at Qingdao Jonoon
football club in a brief appearance attended by a large crowd of fans.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/david-beckham-dodges-china-corruption-questions-8546597.html" target="_blank">link</a> </span>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-21309650345623361582013-03-23T04:37:00.000-07:002013-03-23T04:37:04.716-07:00Football world focuses on Istanbul draw<div style="margin-top: 0px;">
This coming Monday evening, the focus of
attention for the global footballing family turns to Istanbul, as the
Turkish metropolis hosts the eagerly-awaited group stage draw for the
FIFA U-20 World Cup 2013. Exactly 88 days before the tournament kicks
off, and after the ceremony at 19.00 local time (18.00 CET) in the
banqueting hall of the Grand Tarabya Hotel, the competing teams will
finally learn who they must overcome in their quest to claim the most
prestigious prize in youth football.</div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px;">
<strong>Eager anticipation, mounting tension<br />
</strong>The 19th edition of the highly anticipated FIFA tournament
takes place between 21 June and 13 July this summer. A starting field of
24 teams will contest a total of 52 matches in the seven host cities of
Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Kayseri, Rize and Trabzon. The
eventual winners will succeed Brazil as world champions, as the winners
of the last FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia two years ago surprisingly
failed to qualify for this summer's showdown in <a class="articleBodyLink" href="http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=tur/index.html">Turkey</a>.</div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-top: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/news/newsid=2040372/index.html?cid=rssfeed&att=" target="_blank">link</a> </span></div>
Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-33243410302256025662013-03-23T04:30:00.002-07:002013-03-23T04:30:52.937-07:00I was a football thug.<h1 class="">
“I was a football thug. Some people are murderers and rapists, but they don’t admit it. I am not ashamed of what I did."
</h1>
<time class="published-date" datetime="2013-03-23T07:00:04" itemprop="datePublished">
<a href="http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/by-date/23-03-2013">
</a>
</time>
<div class="lead-text">
<div class="">
</div>
<b>Former Blues hooligan Barrington Patterson reveals the story of his battles with life in new book </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i3.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article1863178.ece/ALTERNATES/s927b/PM2819529@One%20Eyed%20Baz%20Bfor-1863178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="portrait" height="320" src="http://i3.birminghammail.co.uk/incoming/article1863178.ece/ALTERNATES/s927b/PM2819529@One%20Eyed%20Baz%20Bfor-1863178.jpg" width="211" /></a> Former Blues hooligan Barrington Patterson lifts the lid on his extraordinary life in a new biography. The Brummie hardman talked about his colourful past of soccer violence, boxing champions and the Gladiators to MIKE LOCKLEY.<br /><br />“I was born to fight,” growled Birmingham’s most notorious soccer hooligan, Barrington ‘One-Eyed Baz’ Patterson, his gold tooth glinting as the scowl succumbed to a smirk.<br /><br />“I came out of my mother’s womb fighting,” the Handsworth hardman insisted, stretching his bulky, 18 stone frame in a show of indifference.<br /><br />“I’m not the kind of person who walks away. If you don’t want trouble, don’t lay it on me.”<br /><br />The 47-year-old former leading light in Birmingham City’s feared Zulu hooligan crew has paid for his penchant for punch-ups, with a record so crammed with violent offences it’s a veritable criminal double album.<br /><br />“I’ve lost count, to be honest,” the nightclub bouncer muttered with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “Maybe 20 - all for violence, but none football related.”<br /><br />He stared into space for a second, wringing his shovel-sized hands for inspiration before apologising. “Oh yeah - there’s one robbery... and a burglary.”<br /><br />“Am I violent?” he hissed, stung by the enquiry, his heavy gold chain swaying in a show of disapproval. “Don’t ask other people what I’m like, ask me what I’m like.”<br /><br />I pointed out, diplomatically, I was asking him.<br /><br />Barrington slumped back in his chair and mulled over the question. “I am what I am.<br /><br />“But I don’t regret anything. The only thing I regret in life is having five kids by five different women.”<br /><br />The bonds that tie thrice-wed Barrington to his extended family are loose. “Am I a grandfather?” he mused. “Not to my knowledge.”<br /><br />Barrington, who channelled his blood-lust into a highly successful kickboxing and cage-fighting career - he held world titles in both, has paid for the self-imposed stains on his character. <br />
<br />
<br />
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The man who bared his soul on TV hoodlum series, Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men was within a whisker of exploding on our screens as a Gladiator: one of the muscle-bound, leotard clad athletes who pummelled contestants in the popular 90s show of the same name.<br /><br />Possibly for the best. Get clobbered with one of those oversized cottonbuds by Barrington and you’d have ringing in your ears for a year.<br /><br />“Your past always catches up with you,” he sighed. “I went to the Gladiators audition and they said I was ideal, the right build and everything. It was done and dusted, they said. All they had to do was a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check.<br /><br />“I knew that was it straight away.” It was.<br /><br />The one-man army has again been thrust into the limelight, thanks to his new autobiography, One Eyed Baz. It has been penned by reformed West Ham hooligan Cass Pennant.<br /><br />The tome is launched at Birmingham’s Irish Centre on Saturday night.<br /><br />“It doesn’t glorify what I did,” he was at pains to point out. “It’s my journey.”<br /><br />Stubbing a finger in my direction he announced: “I did what I did with one eye - that’s the story.<br /><br />“I was a football thug. Some people are murderers and rapists, but they don’t admit it. I am not ashamed of what I did, but I have a story to tell. There is more to life than being a football thug.”<br /><br />Contrary to Second City folklore, Barrington did not lose his optic on the terraces or in the street. It’s a war-wound received when, as a seven-year-old, his sister threw a can at him.<br /><br />Yet despite the handicap, he fought around the globe in martial arts tournaments, facing the very best - including current world heavyweight boxing champ Vitali Klitschko - and lifting a raft of titles.<br /><br />It’s the handicap that shaped this brutal being. “It made we what I am today,” he said. “At school they called me cyclops, stuff like that, and I’d do battle with them.”<br /><br />Barrington simply never stopped battling. The self-styled Handsworth ‘rude boy’ so impressed a band of Birmingham City skinheads called the Apex crew, they invited him to a match. A clear case of, if you can’t beat ‘em, ask them to join you’.<br /><br />“The first time I went to Blues - 1982 or 83 - I didn’t know anyone. I was looking around thinking, where are the brothers?’’<br /><br />Barrington’s thirst for violent action soon earned him admirers. “The size of me,” he put forward as a probable reason for his popularity, “people do feel intimidated by me. I stand out a mile.”<br /><br />He speaks matter-of-factly about those shameful years of soccer mob rule. “We earned our reputation. There were people like Millwall, they thought they were top, but we wanted to be the top hooligans. You are there with your friends and you are outnumbered 20 to one and you think, ‘I ain’t running nowhere’.<br /><br />“You get up in the morning, you want to go to that town and you want to take the p*** for the day. You want to take over that town for the day. But we didn’t just beat anyone with a Liverpool scarf - the lads know who the lads are.<br /><br />“At the time, it was all about Saturday, Saturday, Saturday.”<br /><br />“I got done a couple of times,” he conceded.<br /><br />Leeds and Millwall’s thugs provided particularly tough competition, though Barrington singled out West Ham’s infamous Inter City Firm as, in his words, the best: in the eyes of the general public, the worst.<br /><br />Scuffles? There were more than a few, though the mid-80s St Andrew’s pitch invasions that marred matches against Leeds and West Ham stand out.<br /><br />Barrington clings to a perceived code of conduct among thugs and laments the behaviour of the new breed of bad boys. “There are young people calling themselves Zulus who are tarnishing the name. They are ruthless young ****ers. Years ago, you saw an old person, you stopped what you were doing and let them go past.”<br /><br />At the end of our interview, he encased my limp hand in a vice-like grip, looked deep into my frightened eyes and demanded: “I didn’t sound like a t**t, did I?”<br /><br />That’s a question linked to diet. Say ‘yes’ and you’ll be tucking into hospital food for the forseeable future.</div>
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Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-89147234011903955022013-02-26T12:03:00.001-08:002013-02-26T12:03:32.866-08:00sites down for the momentwill be back up in two weeks <br />
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<span style="background-color: orange;">posted 26/2/13</span>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-44945990050230215042013-02-08T01:33:00.003-08:002013-02-08T01:33:32.725-08:00Uefa reduce 2013 Champions League final ticket prices<b> Uefa has responded to growing concerns over the high cost of watching football in England by reducing the cheapest ticket for this year's Champions League final at Wembley to £68.</b><br /><br />European football's governing body was accused of exploiting supporters when the match was last staged in London two years ago - Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 - by charging £176 for the cheapest ticket.<br /><br />Uefa will announce later on Friday that it has listened to that criticism and lowered prices for the showpiece match, which takes place on 25 May, after consulting football fans across Europe. <br />
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"It is correct we should give the opportunity to everyone to go to the match irrespective of their financial conditions," a spokesman said.<br /><br />But many supporters may still view the entry level price of almost £70 as too high - even for what is arguably the biggest game of the season.<br /><br />Only 13,000 of the 59,000 tickets on general sale will be priced in this new low category. The rest will be sold at much higher prices ranging from £140 to £330.<br /><br />This year's competition resumes next week with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Celtic, Arsenal, AC Milan and Bayern Munich all involved in the last 16 ties.<br /><br />And some fans may still question why 20,000 seats are not being put on sale to the general public. Uefa hold back these tickets for sponsors, commercial partners and officials and administrators from European and world football.<br /><br />Uefa's response is nevertheless a sign that football's authorities may be aware of the increased sensitivity around the cost of watching football - particularly in England where some Premier League clubs have been accused of ripping off away supporters.<br /><br />In January, Manchester City fans returned nearly a third of the ticket allocation for their game at Arsenal, saying the £62 price was too high.<br /><br />Supporters groups have warned the Premier League it risks alienating a generation of fans by charging too much to watch games.<br /><br />The Premier League says it cannot tell clubs to reduce prices but argues many have become more sophisticated over the past decade, introducing stretched ticketing policies where higher-priced tickets help subsidise more cheaper tickets for fans on lower incomes.<br /><br />Despite that, some campaigners want to see a greater commitment to reduce prices especially at a time when Premier League clubs are poised to see a huge increase in income thanks to the competition's new improved TV rights deals, which take effect from this August.Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-86169104361576659672013-02-06T02:53:00.001-08:002013-02-06T02:53:31.605-08:00Four arrested as police attempt to curb football disorder during Leyton Orient matchAt least four people were arrested inside and outside of a football stadium last night.<br /><br />Two were detained on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and two more on suspicion of public order offences as police attempted to prevent trouble during Leyton Orient’s home match against Southend United at Brisbane Road Stadium.<br /><br />Police have not yet provided the ages and sexes of the four but confirmed three were arrested outside the stadium and one inside.<br /><br />The news comes after nine pubs in Leyton and Leytonstone agreed with the Met’s request to close at 9pm yesterday in an attempt to prevent public disorder related to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy first leg tie, which the Os lost 1-0.<br /><br />The Red Lion in High Road, Leytonstone, shut its doors at 4pm.<br /><br />Police took the measures after two drinkers at the Walnut Tree in Leytonstone High Road were attacked by a group of 10 to 15 men on January 26 at 10pm, following an O's match with Notts County.<br /><br />A 44-year-old man and a 26-year-old man suffered head injuries.<br /><br />No-one has been arrested.<br /><br />The football club would only accept tickets booked online or in person from the ticket office prior to the game. Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-78958001935471932612013-02-06T02:06:00.001-08:002013-02-06T02:06:03.655-08:00SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY AND BRIGHTON BOSSES CHARGED WITH IMPROPER CONDUCT SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY manager Dave Jones and Brighton’s first-team coach Charlie Oatway have been charged with improper conduct by the FA following a fiery Championship fixture on Saturday.<br /><br />The incident occurred following Wednesday midfielder Danny Pugh’s heavy challenge on Albion’s Inigo Calderon in the second half of the game at Hillsborough.<br /><br />Pugh’s booking sparked a furious reaction from the visiting bench and the ensuing bust-up, which involved players and staff from both benches, saw Jones and Oatway sent to the stands as stewards and police tried to restore order.Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-46261389570636316422013-02-05T00:36:00.001-08:002013-02-05T00:36:30.956-08:00FA unaware of match-fixing probe following Europol investigation<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>How can they say they are unaware of match-fixing probe it's been in the news and all over the web </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Neither the FA nor UEFA was made aware of a police match-fixing investigation into a Champions League game in England.<br /><br />The mystery surrounding a European police match-fixing investigation into a Champions League game in England has deepened after it emerged neither the Football Association nor UEFA were aware of any such probe.<br /><br />Rob Wainwright, director of Europol - the European Union's law enforcement agency, told a news conference on Monday that the match which took place "in the last three to four years" was one of 380 under investigation.<br /><br />Europol said a total of 425 match officials, club officials, players, and serious criminals, from more than 15 countries, are suspected of being involved in attempts to fix matches.<br /><br />Wainwright refused to name which English Champions League match in particular due to "ongoing judicial proceedings" - and the FA, which as the governing body in the country should be alerted, is also at a loss to know which one.<br /><br />A spokesman for The Football Association said: "The FA are not aware of any credible reports into suspicious Champions League fixtures in England, nor has any information been shared with us.<br /><br />"While the Champions League comes under UEFA jurisdiction, The FA, alongside the Premier League, Football League and Conference, monitor markets for the top seven leagues and three major cup competitions in England and take matters of integrity in football extremely seriously."</span><br />
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Match-fixing probe: 680 suspicious games worldwide</h1>
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Investigators expose global soccer fixing scam</h1>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hundreds of soccer matches have been fixed in a global betting scam run from Singapore, police said on Monday, in a blow to the image of the world's most popular sport and a multi-billion dollar industry.<br /><br />About 680 suspicious matches including qualifying games for the World Cup and European Championships, and the Champions League for top European club sides, have been identified in an inquiry by European police forces, the European anti-crime agency Europol, and national prosecutors. </span></h1>
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<a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/04/uk-football-matchfixing-idUKBRE9130BL20130204" target="_blank">Link</a></h1>
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Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-60790603091225745342013-02-02T03:11:00.002-08:002013-02-02T03:11:56.732-08:00Expert calls for arrest of well-known "fixer"<b>ROME (Reuters) - Assertions by authorities that tackling match-fixing in football will be a long and complex process have been rejected by a leading expert on corruption in the game, who says the arrest of one person will make a difference.</b><br /><br />Declan Hill, an author and investigative journalist who believes gangs avoid detection by fixing the betting exchanges as well as matches, has called on authorities to arrest Dan Tan, who he says is an alleged major "fixer" in Singapore.<br /><br />"There's an effort to say that taking on match-fixing is a complicated, sophisticated activity that involves taking on dark, mysterious figures," Hill, the author of The Fix: Soccer and Organised Crime, told Reuters in an interview.<br /><br />"We know the fixer. There's one guy who helped fix games in over 50 countries in the world. This is Finnish police, the Hungarian police, the German police, the Italian police saying this.<br /><br />"This is over 800 pages of the Cremona public prosecutor's report (from the most recent Italian match-fixing scandal) that not only names the man and gives his birth date, it has his phone records, it talks about where he was, it talks about everything."<br /><br />Singapore police said in a statement: "The authorities in Singapore are assisting the Italian authorities through Interpol in their investigations into an international match-fixing syndicate that purportedly involves a Singaporean, Dan Tan Seet Eng, and have provided information requested by the National Central Bureau (NCB) Rome.<br /><br />"So far, Dan Tan Seet Eng has not been arrested or charged with any offence in Singapore.<br /><br />"We wish to reiterate that Singapore takes a strong stance against match-fixing and is committed to working with international enforcement agencies to bring down transnational criminal syndicates, including those that involve the acts of Singaporeans overseas, and protect the integrity of the sport."<br /><br />Dan Tan could not be reached for comment.<br /><br />Hill appeared this month at a match-fixing conference in Rome attended by international football and police representatives as well as gambling experts.<br /><br />"You have the biggest sporting organisations in the world and some of the biggest police agencies across Europe saying this is the man who has fixed games in dozens of different countries, including Singapore. You'd think that would be enough," Hill said.<br /><br />"Next year FIFA is opening up a $20 million anti-match-fixing education centre (in Interpol's new Global Complex) in Singapore. I'm boggled that anyone would think about doing that in a jurisdiction...(with possibly the) central international match fixer of our time."<br /><br />"NOBODY NOTICES"<br /><br />European football's governing body UEFA says its early warning system to combat match-fixing shows only 0.7 percent of the 32,000 matches monitored per year are fixed and they are almost exclusively lower-division matches.<br /><br />However, Hill argues the systems used by FIFA and UEFA to track suspicious activity on the betting markets would not detect scams by Asian gangs that operate across Europe.<br /><br />UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said at the Rome conference that his organisation was "not geared up to fight criminality" but FIFA counterpart Jerome Valcke said no Champions League or World Cup matches were fixed.<br /><br />Hill said: "Early warning systems are based on the premise that the fixers are stupid. They're not. The fixers spend as much time working out how to fix the gambling markets - so that nobody notices what they're doing - as they do fixing the actual games.<br /><br />"The bigger the game, the easier it is to fix the gambling market.<br /><br />"Ninety to 95 percent of the money laid on a fix by any professional fixer is on the Asian market and it's with a series of agents who are essentially local and regional bookies that go all the way to a couple of really big companies. And they're not providing information to the warning system.<br /><br />"Everyone inside football knows there's a massive problem in June, July and August in the Champions League (qualifying rounds).<br /><br />"July is a peak season for fixers because you have a market that is betting 365 (days of the year), 24 hours a day, but from June to early August there's very little European football."<br /><br />The big tournaments could also be affected.<br /><br />"They don't know based on their early warning system whether there's fixing in the World Cup or the Champions League, because there's too much liquidity - too much money being placed on a game," Hill said.<br /><br />"Betfair (an internet betting exchange based in London) for last year's Champions League final had a liquidity of one billion pounds ($1.58 billion). Multiply Betfair by 60 or 80 and you've got tens of billions on one game.<br /><br />"The only thing they (UEFA) have is a system that doesn't collect information effectively for the big games and doesn't take any information if the fixers are intelligent.<br /><br />"So to suggest that there's only less than one percent of European matches across UEFA being fixed is a total fantasy."Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-39891828984812461192013-02-02T03:06:00.001-08:002013-02-02T03:06:20.143-08:00Shoot underway on Jason Maza spoof Hooligan Factory<div class="standfirst">
<b>Nick Nevern directs and has co-written the football hooliganism spoof shooting in London.</b><br />
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</b><b>Shooting has commenced in London on football hooligan spoof <em><a href="http://screenbase.screendaily.com/films/3605-the-hooligan-factory">The Hooligan Factory</a></em>.</b><br />
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Nick Nevern directs and has co-written the film with Michael Lindley, with Jason Maza starring<br /><br />Maza produces with Will Clarke’s Altitude Film Sales, which also handles sales. The film charts the encounter between a young man and a notorious football hooligan.<br /><br />Tom Burke and Josef Altin star alongside Maza, with cameos from Leo Gregory, Tony Denham, Dexter Fletcher, and former football hooligan Cass Pennant<br /><br />The Fyzz Facility is co-financing the project; Think Big Productions and Marshall Leviten are co-producing partners. Shooting will take place at 3 Mills and Elstree. <b></b><br />
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<b>http://screenbase.screendaily.com/films/3605-the-hooligan-factory</b>Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3822994257882432583.post-20834332221458997482013-02-02T03:03:00.002-08:002013-02-02T03:03:36.588-08:00Sunderland-shot film to shine light on female football hooliganism <b>A FILM is throwing the spotlight upon the secret world of female football hooliganism.<br /><br />Director Garry Moore, from Red House, hopes to tackle the subject in his first feature film which will be shot in Sunderland, though based in London.</b><br />
<br /><img src="http://www.sunderlandecho.com/webimage/1.5312879%21/image/1429563850.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_215/1429563850.jpg" width="215" /><img src="http://www.sunderlandecho.com/webimage/1.5312878%21/image/1750417530.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_215/1750417530.jpg" width="215" /><br /><br />
First he is trying to attract investors who will fund the £200,000 needed for the movie, which will be called Hard.<br /><br />{>>CLICK HERE to view a trailer for the film|>>CLICK HERE to view a trailer for the film|http://www.indiegogo.com/hard-themovie?c=home}<br /><br />Garry, who has won a number of awards in the past for his short films, says it would be a great opportunity to tell an unusual story in a compelling way.<br /><br />“I’ve been trying to get a feature film off the ground for a number of years,” he said.<br /><br />“I’ve made 39 short films, but these are often a calling card and stepping stone into making a feature film and I’m at the stage where I need to step up and progress my career.”<br /><br />Hard focuses on 16-year-old Beki Knight, who joins a female gang after her sister is left brain-damaged in a fight.<br /><br />A trailer for the film has already been shot on the banks of the River Wear and at other settings around the city.<br /><br />“I’ve done some research into football hooliganism and come across a few female hooligans,” said Garry. “But they are mostly part of male-dominated firms.<br /><br />“In London, however, there is a big problem with girl gangs and I thought it would be interesting to combine the two.<br /><br />“When you look at films such as Green Street and Football Factory they are quite generic streets that could be in any city. There are lots of places in Sunderland that would be perfect for the film.<br /><br />“It also keeps costs down to shoot here.”<br /><br />Many of the actors cast in the film hail from the North East, such as Gauri Vedhara who was in Byker Grove for seven years and more recently appeared in the CBBC series Wolf Blood.<br /><br />A crew is also in place which has worked on a number of high-profile films such as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Dark Knight, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Interview with a Hitman.<br /><br />Garry has set up a fund-raising page on crowd-funding website Indiegogo which allows people to make donations to fund the film from as little as £1.<br /><br />He is also planning to approach investors who can plough in more substantial funds.<br /><br />He said: “It is notoriously difficult to find anyone to back you when you don’t have a track record in feature film making.<br /><br />“So I made a concept trailer for the film with backing from two small investors who saw the potential in the film, to be able to show other investors, sales agents and distributors what the film would look like in terms of style, content and quality.<br /><br />“I’m in talks with a number of investors to raise the £200,000 needed, but it was always the intention to run a funding campaign on Indiegogo, to allow ordinary people who can’t afford to make large investments the opportunity to get involved in the glamorous world of film making.”<br /><br />People who donate to the making of the film can receive a perk or reward in exchange.<br /><br />These can vary, from a personal thank-you message from the director to signed scripts to days on set shadowing the director or as an extra or attending a cast read through.<br /><br />l To learn more about the film and to link through to the Indiegogo page, visit www.shamfilms.co.uk.Bluepanichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09683282604635670802noreply@blogger.com0