Category Archives: Pub Chat
Is Liverpool’s Andy Carroll big potential or a big mistake?
The second part of this article was first featured on Football Speak – if you enjoy it please go there and “Rate it”.
Here at We Heart Football we have never been described as completely impartial. More likely we are biased, opinionated and some might say at times blinkered. This is not about to change, but in order to offer a balanced view Raffael Fernandes and Tom Gaunt will be giving two different perspectives on one, possibly misunderstood, player. Andy Carroll. Read the rest of this entry
Torres exceeds his own low standards
Torres: Delighted with his assist
By Tom Gaunt
I recently wrote about boo-boys, and whilst I would never boo Fernando Torres or wish him any ill fate I have become slightly fixated with his performances and the mixed reactions to them. In fact it seems the whole media world uses half their Chelsea match report to discuss how the misfiring Spaniard performed. So with this in mind I readily admit that my opinions on Torres may be slightly clouded, but nonetheless I will share them.
I watched last nights game against Bayer Leverkusen and thought Chelsea’s overall display, against a club who are no mugs, was solid if not spectacular. Daniel Sturridge sparkled and new boys Juan Mata and Raul Meireles looked full of ideas and energy. Torres however left me rolling my eyes and sighing as he was constantly knocked off the ball, mis-controlled and generally looked poor. He was unlucky of course, in the first few minutes his clever flick went so close to Meireles that the goal was rightly given offside, but it seems that since his arrival Torres has been plagued with ‘bad luck’. It is the sort of luck which Arsenal have had recently or it seems most relegated clubs are faced with, but it is not really luck when it carries over 20+ games. Read the rest of this entry
Women’s Football – Not a spectator sport
By Aaron Evans
Women: Know your limits
I want to start this piece with a little disclaimer. I am in no way a misogynist nor do I have out dated views on both women and the empowerment of women. In fact I love women particularly their tits.
Over the last year we have seen some shocking behavior towards women in football, with Sky Sports stalwarts Richard Keys and Andy Gray unleashing their forked tongues over the airways. With the women’s World Cup under way I keep reading the same opinions, overreactions and views bubbling to the surface. Only today I was made to feel like a modern day Alf Garnett in pretty much all football media channels, why you ask? Because I don’t like watching women’s football.
I understand that this is a very delicate subject and I also feel women have the right and naturally the ability to play football, but not to the standard I am used to and expect. I am an Arsenal fan and we have the most successful woman’s football team in the history of the sport, however I have no interest – even at a time when Arsenal fans are desperate for some light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.
No matter how hard the female strand of the beautiful game is marketed it never seems to bring in the punters – it’s an intriguing problem; it is after all the same game. Read the rest of this entry
How to become a Professional Footballer…
By Tom Gaunt
It seems that every man and his dog has had trials at one football team or another or been “on their books” when they were younger….. Now these range from the plausible skillful Sunday league player who just didn’t quite make it to some guy that plays more like Ali Dia (Saints flop not the Iranian legend) than Alan Shearer. Whether it be a knee injury that stopped them or the lack of desire there is always that feeling of what could have been.
But joking aside, how difficult is it to become a pro, and is it just skill and hard work? My story is that I was at the Millwall school of excellence. This is actually true, but in reality I was a million miles from “making it”. Read the rest of this entry
Championship Manager – Pixelated Crack
By Aaron Evans
I left school with 10 GCSE’s, 6 League titles, a Champions League winner’s medal, and a life sized statue of myself outside Barnet’s Underhill Stadium. This will more than likely resonate with most football fans as I am talking about Championship Manager. Read the rest of this entry
Stick It in the Box
By Aaron Evans
There is something about growing up that really saddens me. We get to 15 and all of a sudden we become way too cool for everything. We start worrying about what people think of us. When I was 7 I didn’t give a monkey’s what people thought of my hand knitted Mr T. sweater , it honestly didn’t bother me that I was wearing jelly sandals and had hair cut like a pre-pubescent Neil Morrisey. All I honestly cared about was my He-Man collection and my family – everything else was either ‘Poo’ or a ‘willy bum’.
To inject some much needed happiness in to my adult life, to escape the constant financial worry, and the stresses and strains of work and relationships, I decided to re-examine what made me happy as a seven year old. I started collecting comics again and it didn’t really work, I also bought a Dairy Lea triangle and a packet of Monster Munch and naturally it didn’t help. When buying a packet of cigarettes at my local petrol station I spotted a box of Premier League stickers nudging me in the part of the brain that processes sentiment. I took a deep breath and all of the worries of the world dissipated. Read the rest of this entry
Best team in the World to watch: Barcelona or Blackpool?
Adam: Legend
By Tom Gaunt
It is widely accepted that Barcelona are currently the best team in the world. Despite not winning the Champions League last season, most people accept that they sit on top of the pile. We will only know if this honorary title is justified over the next 2 months but I think we can safely say in World football they are considered number one. Taking it a step further most would probably also regard them as the team that plays the most attractive or beautiful football in the world, but are they really that exciting to watch. I don’t think so. Maybe it is a deep hatred for the club stemming from their unjust victory over my beloved Chelsea or whether I have a very different taste from most football fans, but I would prefer to watch Blackpool any day of the week.
Now don’t get me wrong Barcelona are a good team to watch, but I do find myself quite often bored. You may argue this is due to their domination, a one sided game is often very dull, but surely that does contribute to how exciting a side they are, and the desire held to watch them play. So this raises the question of what is good football?
My gripe is not specifically with Barcelona, I am not ignorant enough to suggest they play anything but excellent football, but by what parameters do we define good football. When I watch a match I want excitement and when Barcelona play 50, 10 yard passes around the midfield it does little for my heart rate. I have thought in recent years that Arsenal are a poor man’s Barcelona, as they seem to adopt this same style of passing the ball around without ever really going for goal. Now fortunately for Barce they are so precise with their passing that they can accurately dissect a defence and have the ball in the back of the net without raising a sweat. The top teams in the world are probably a victim of their own success with many of their games over after an hour and most happy to avoid injury and see a game out keeping fresh for bigger future battles.
When I pick what game I am going to watch on a Saturday afternoon, if my team aren’t playing, I always watch Blackpool as you are guaranteed a great game. There are always lots of chances, the pace is always frenetic and both teams get lots of chances. This to me is exciting and good football. The sad thing about the way Blackpool play is that it will probably see them relegated this season and whichever Championship team takes their place will I am, sure learn from how not to stay in the premiership and adopt the “Hoof it first, think later” approach teams like Stoke adopted to stay up.
Ian Holloway has got his team giving 110% and trying till the death, something many “stronger” teams could learn from. They have scored in every game at home and given their fans some great games. Based on their skill level alone they probably should have gone down a long time ago, but Holloway has got them playing with a freedom that has seen them beat Liverpool home and away and almost shock United and Arsenal (had it not been for a clear pens not being given).
Recently there was uproar at the ticket prices for the Champions League final, 150 Euros for the cheapest ticket. These are simply the mechanisms of supply and demand, proven by the fact that 80,000+ fans will happily pay this and more, all hoping as we will at home that it lives up to the hype; but if you are talking ROI I would suggest taking a trip to Bloomfield Road 14th of May to watch their must win game against Bolton. I can 100% guarantee it will be an absolute cracker!
Could you score a penalty past a Premier League keeper?
I was recently discussing how difficult it would be for a mere Sunday league player like myself to score a penalty past a premier league goalkeeper.
I have used a Ben Foster save as the illustation... a rare piece and real collectors item.
My friends insisted if they hit it sweet enough the keeper couldn’t possibly stop it. My argument is that the ‘Keepers reflexes and the power with which Premier League players hit the ball means that they could probably just react to our shot and stop it wherever we hit it.
Your thoughts… could you score past Pepe Reina or Petr Cech?
