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Fairness and football are rarely good bedfellows. At the glitzy Golden Ball ceremony in Paris on Monday night, there was further evidence of this as Aitana Bonmatí collected the women’s award for the third year in a row. “I still can’t believe it. Incredible,” cheered the Spain playmaker. “Thank you for this … it really could have gone to anyone.” Except it didn’t. You see, France Football has a tendency to overlook more deserving characters by focusing on talent, attitude and output. The Edinburgh comedy award has a rule where no one can take home the bacon twice, allowing others to get their moment in the spotlight, too, and preventing Football Daily’s questionable comedy heroes from collecting it annually. It doesn’t matter that Bonmatí has been a consistent pinnacle of excellence in the game, driving Barcelona to the Liga F title for a sixth straight year and recovering from viral meningitis to play at the Euros. She also had a penalty saved in the final as England beat Spain, which came after succumbing to Arsenal in the Women’s Bigger Cup final.
Total nonsense. You’ve got to remember what the game is about: winning football matches, and that means scoring goals, not recording the expectation of them. ‘Expected goals’ have only come about in the last few years. It’s a clueless development. Some people just use these words to try to sound clever” – Martin O’Neill gets his chat on with Donald McRae about all things management and Nottingham Forest under Big Vange.
Jack Grealish may have ‘never seen a player in my whole life get booked for taking a quick free-kick’ (yesterday’s Football Daily), but it has happened. In Leicester City’s 1997 Uefa Cup tie against Atlético Madrid, Garry Parker was carded for just that, and having already been booked, was sent off for his trouble. This was a tie that, in the words of Martin O’Neill, ‘we could never have won’, with five penalty decisions (one given, four not) all going the way of Madrid, on top of Parker’s bizarre exit. This was the referee’s last European game. However, given that Jack was two at the time, I’ll forgive him for not paying attention” – Glynn Marshall.
Continue reading…Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Fairness and football are rarely good bedfellows. At the glitzy Golden Ball ceremony in Paris on Monday night, there was further evidence of this as Aitana Bonmatí collected the women’s award for the third year in a row. “I still can’t believe it. Incredible,” cheered the Spain playmaker. “Thank you for this … it really could have gone to anyone.” Except it didn’t. You see, France Football has a tendency to overlook more deserving characters by focusing on talent, attitude and output. The Edinburgh comedy award has a rule where no one can take home the bacon twice, allowing others to get their moment in the spotlight, too, and preventing Football Daily’s questionable comedy heroes from collecting it annually. It doesn’t matter that Bonmatí has been a consistent pinnacle of excellence in the game, driving Barcelona to the Liga F title for a sixth straight year and recovering from viral meningitis to play at the Euros. She also had a penalty saved in the final as England beat Spain, which came after succumbing to Arsenal in the Women’s Bigger Cup final.Total nonsense. You’ve got to remember what the game is about: winning football matches, and that means scoring goals, not recording the expectation of them. ‘Expected goals’ have only come about in the last few years. It’s a clueless development. Some people just use these words to try to sound clever” – Martin O’Neill gets his chat on with Donald McRae about all things management and Nottingham Forest under Big Vange.Jack Grealish may have ‘never seen a player in my whole life get booked for taking a quick free-kick’ (yesterday’s Football Daily), but it has happened. In Leicester City’s 1997 Uefa Cup tie against Atlético Madrid, Garry Parker was carded for just that, and having already been booked, was sent off for his trouble. This was a tie that, in the words of Martin O’Neill, ‘we could never have won’, with five penalty decisions (one given, four not) all going the way of Madrid, on top of Parker’s bizarre exit. This was the referee’s last European game. However, given that Jack was two at the time, I’ll forgive him for not paying attention” – Glynn Marshall. Continue reading…
