Lets face it, as football fans, we all appreciate our stadiums. The history, heritage and tradition that surrounds them. The emotions we dispense inside. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a hulking figure that dominate the skylines or a slither of grass flanked by a few dilapidated stands. Every football stadium has a story. Each one is beautiful in it’s own right.
Unfortunately there are some poor structures affixed with names that really do make you giggle like like a young child stuck in a laughing fit after viewing their first episode of Mr Bean. You really have to wonder what goes through the heads of some football chairmen don’t you? Naming a football stadium after a chocolate bar is both ludicrous and hysterical all in the same measure.
But, football is big business these days and no matter how absurd it my be naming a ground after the countries leading manufacturer of crinkle cut crisps or a popular Hollywood actor can financially benefit a club in the long-term. The Premier League is no stranger to such occurrences with Arsenal, Bolton, Manchester City, Stoke and Wigan all showcasing the positives of a naming rights deal. Luckily for them though their footballing cathedrals have steered clear of any madcap monikers.
There are a ton of them out there around the globe but here is the Top TEN Weird & Wacky Stadium Names.
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New York Red Bulls and Philadelphia Union moved to first and second respectively in the MLS Eastern Conference with 1-0 wins on Saturday.The Red Bulls moved a point clear on top with a 1-0 win over the Kansas City Wizards, which came from a 21st-minute strike by English striker Luke Rodgers.
Philadelphia kept the pressure on with a 1-0 win at home against the San Jose Earthquakes, with French midfielder Sebastien Le Toux scoring the winner 14 minutes from time.
The Columbus Crew enjoyed a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, a second-half brace from Venezuelan striker Emilio Renteria proving the difference between the two sides, and the Colorado Rapids were held to a 1-1 draw at home by the struggling Chicago Fire.
The Seattle Sounders cruised to a 3-0 win over Toronto with Brad Evans scoring a double to add to Alvaro Fernandez’s opener, and Chivas USA had goals from Nick LaBrocca, Marcos Mondaini and Alejandro Moreno to thank for their 3-0 win over New England Revolution.
The Portland Timbers enjoyed a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake, with Kenny Cooper scoring the winner after 22 minutes.
For some the dive is a useful weapon in a footballer’s armoury. A well timed, theatrical tumble may just con a gullible referee, thereby securing your team an important advantage. For others (listen to Call Collymore!) use of the dive is flagrant cheating, depriving the players and fans of a fair contest. Whether outraged or discreetly sympathetic of footballers’ amateur dramatics, here are ten memorable moments of diving and simulation.
Eduardo
This was one of the more controversial dives in recent years. The former Arsenal striker Eduardo appeared to dive past Celtic keeper Artur Boruc but subsequently won a penalty. Uefa opted to ban the Croatian for three European matches but this was overturned on appeal.
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Rivaldo
Nobody witnessed the ball rebound of Brazilian’s leg and hit his face but it must have done judging by his Oscar worthy performance. The ball-kicker Hakan Unsal was duly dismissed for Turkey in this 2002 World Cup encounter. Rivaldo was later fined but unrepentant: “Obviously the ball didn’t hit me in the face, but I was still the victim.”
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Diego Simeone
David Beckham’s name was mud after being sent off for kicking out at Simeone in England’s 1998 World Cup last-16 match against Argentina. However the Argentinean fell to the deck in a remarkable dramatic fashion. “I took advantage,” he later said.
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Alberto Gilardino
Some dives can appear deceptively genuine. This could not be further from the case when the former Milan forward Gilardino inexplicably went to ground in a Champions League match at Celtic Park. His bizarre dive provoked the ire of the crowd and the referee.
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Jurgen Klinsmann
The former Tottenham favourite is credited with having initiated the staged dive with the inclusion of a few forward rolls. Football was never to be the same again. In the 1990 World Cup final his histrionics saw Argentina’s Pedro Monzon red-carded instantly.
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Kader Keita
An ill-tempered World Cup group match this year between the Ivory Coast and Brazil culminated in a transparent dive by Keita. The Ivorian ran into Brazilian playmaker Kaka and may have received the slightest nudge to the midriff. The clutching of the face trick ensued as he fell to the ground like a proverbial sack of spuds. Much to his team-mates’ dismay Kaka received a second yellow card.
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Steven Gerrard
For both club and country Gerrard has been something of a serial offender. Say it quietly because Englishmen do not dive and if they do it is surely the malign influence of the league’s foreign contingent. Against Andorra in 2007 the talismanic midfielder was out of options and promptly opted for a tumble in the box. A booking followed.
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Paul Alcock
After some unseemly fisticuffs with Martin Keown, Sheffield Wednesday’s Paolo Di Canio was legitimately shown a red card by referee Paul Alcock. However the ref should have been red carded for simulation after falling backwards for what seemed an eternity following the Italian’s petulant push.
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Kyle Lafferty
Glasgow Rangers’ 6ft 4in striker dropped to the ground with his hands clasped over his face after squaring up to Aberdeen’s Charlie Mulgrew. The left-back was red carded but even the Rangers fans appeared mildly embarrassed by their player’s antics. Lafferty later described the incident as the biggest mistake of his career.
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Slaven Bilic
If a player is contemplating using Lafferty’s feigning frolics it is probably best reserved for a World Cup Semi-Final. Bilic, now manager of Croatia, had appeared to take a knock to the head from Laurent Blanc’s flailing arms whilst defending a French set piece. In practice he had received a minor push to his upper chest. Blanc was penalised and missed France’s 1998 final against Brazil. But the former West Ham defender was defiant: “I am not a cheat. I am honest. I am not to blame. After all, he hit me in the face.”
When the transfer window opens, reinforcing a team’s striking department is a unique pleasure in football. There is much to be taken from shoring up a leaky defence – with say a mountainous centre back or a new safe pair of hands in nets – but games are won by scoring goals, and the rumours, bluffs and obligatory ‘inside sources’ that contribute to the build up to snaring a new predator to do the business upfront make for scintillating viewing as a fan. It’s a feeling only amplified when the team in question happens to be one of the country’s big guns.
Once such rumour from one such ‘source’ was aired by the Daily Mirror’s David Anderson last week, in which he claimed that an insider at Anfield had leaked that a move for Aston Villa and England hitman Darren Bent is done and dusted.
Back in August last year, the idea wouldn’t have carried a cup of water. But six months on, while it’s still far too early to form firm conclusions, it is fair to suggest that Liverpool fans could have expected more from their main striking duo. Luis Suarez has certainly caught the headlines this season, simultaneously for all the right and wrong reasons – a not entirely unimpressive feat. His touchline trickery and fleet footed fishing have been a delight.
The petulance, hand gestures and casual racism, not so much. The latter has landed him a (quite incredible, even given the context) eight game ban from the FA, leaving a Luis shaped hole in Liverpool’s striking options for the next couple of months.
It’s a problem only compounded by the fortunes of his transfer teammate. Andy Carroll ’s ridiculous £35m price tag would weigh heavily around the neck of any player, but for a lad of 23 still learning his game, it threatens to become a millstone. His performances have been described as ‘off the pace’ by more charitable sections of the Scouse faithful, and six goals in 31 appearances have done little to silence the already-sharpening knives. Even if he was playing well, Liverpool are still short up top, and the transfer window has now taken on a new lustre for the club.
Darren Bent in many ways fulfils the immediate criteria necessary. At 27 he’s the right age and, having spent his footballing education in and around the country’s top tier, there should be no ‘bedding in’ or adaptation period. A recognised goal scorer across his career but still somehow not considered amongst the Premiership’s elite, Bent has suffered from a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ reputation, which is perhaps hard to shake at the top level. Pacy, but not blisteringly quick. Solid, but not a hardman. A goalscorer, but not likely to trouble the golden boot regulars on a consistent basis.
Many of these ‘criticisms’ could be levelled as unjust when one takes into account the sides he has had to lead the line for. The catalyst for Bent’s current spotlight basking time was the 2009-10 season; his first of two for Sunderland, in which he netted 25 from 40. This was (and remains) his highest seasonal tally, and finally encouraged England coach Fabio Capello to consider him as more than a mere afterthought.
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With the greatest of respect to the Mackems, anyone with the ability to squeeze that many from Sunderland’s modest midfield service deserves serious consideration from any side with loftier ambitions. And while his subsequent output has yet to meet this exceptional standard, one can only anticipate what Bent might be able to do with a top-notch midfield behind him.
But therein lies another concern; can a big fish in a small pond make the transition to choppier and more competitive waters without ill effect? Bent’s most fruitful periods have come about while he has been the main man up top – at Villa, Sunderland and previously at Charlton – playing centre stage, week in week out. The one time in his career in which he has faced real competition for places was in his ill-fated spell at Spurs.
Statistically, his two seasons at White Hart Lane look reasonable value – eight from 36 and 17 from 43 – but in truth, he didn’t make a significant impression on the starting eleven, often more so on the subs bench in favour of Dimitar Berbatov and compatriot Jermaine Defoe.
One hot-headed tweet too many saw him shipped out to Steve Bruce’s side shortly after. With competition at Liverpool at least as intense, would an older and perhaps wiser Bent be in better shape to cope with rotation and team tinkering?
One area in which Bent does fit is in King Kenny’s wider plan to implement a British spine to the club. With Adam, Bellamy, Downing, Henderson and Carroll, the Liverpool manager has aired his penchant for a homegrown base to his side; as well as his willingness to pay top dollar for them. If figures are to be believed, the final three on that list joined for a combined total of over £70m.
For the £20m+ fee Bent is likely to command from Villa, there are certainly more economical options abroad. It’s an interesting point particularly given that in Suarez, Liverpool’s most effective signing in recent times had been a foreigner. It’s about more than passports; a player from a different league and footballing mantra can inject something different into a side in a creative rut. And isn’t that where this Liverpool side has struggled most of late?
For our money, Bent is a steady choice likely to do well in more sophisticated environs than those in which he currently finds himself in Aston. But as for a real game changer? More affordable, and dare we say it, exciting options undoubtedly lie elsewhere.
Article courtesy of Luke Geoghegan from This is Futbol
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Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has praised in-form attacker Maxi Rodriguez after his hat-trick in their 5-2 win over Fulham on Monday.The Argentine has scored seven goals in his last three games, flourishing under Dalglish after showing only glimpses of his best under predecessor Roy Hodgson.
His strikes on Monday at Craven Cottage, along with goals from Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez, saw the Reds move above Tottenham and into fifth spot in the English Premier League.
Maxi sealed his hat-trick with a 25-yard drive into the top corner, and Dalglish said he deserved the praise he was receiving.
“He’s a really intelligent footballer. He knows where to go and when to go,” Dalglish told BBC.
“Everything’s happening for him at the moment. He deserves the accolades.”
“He’s a very clever player. A lot of balls have been falling to him in the box, but you’ve got to be there to put them away and he has been.”
Fulham had won their last four games at Craven Cottage, but could not recover after conceding three goals in the opening 16 minutes against the Reds.
Second-half goals from attacker Moussa Dembele and midfielder Steve Sidwell proved to be nothing more than consolation strikes.
Dalglish’s team is unbeaten in their last five outings and he believes missing out on the Europa League’s fifth spot would not be a blow.
“Nobody would ever have anticipated the run that the boys have been on since January, would they? It’s been unbelievable,” he said.
“Even if we don’t get fifth, they’ve been absolutely fantastic. For us, the position hasn’t been as important as the response of the players.”
Fulham manager Mark Hughes said the game was all over after his side conceded three goals in the opening 15 minutes.
“Consecutive errors led to goals,” Hughes said.
“On too many occasions we were giving away unforced errors and giving the ball away in the wrong part of the pitch.”
“The game was gone in the first 15 minutes. It wasn’t something we’d expected the way we’ve played in recent months.”
Hughes said he was keen to get his players into the dressing rooms to rectify the problems they had in the first half.
“We’re not the type of team to shore up and go for damage limitation,” he said.
“We’ve been fantastic for the majority of the season. We were all taken aback by how the game panned out today (and) we just need to learn from it.”
Hughes said Uruguayan Suarez was afforded too much freedom by his defence and the attacker took advantage, creating chances and getting on the scoresheet.
“He’s a talented player. He’s an exceptional player, always in pockets of space which in fairness we allowed him,” Hughes said.
“If we dictate him then it’s OK, but he dictated us today.”
Fulham sit in 10th following the loss, while Liverpool are still in contention for the Champions League qualifying spot at four points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Manchester City goalkeeper Shay Given has confirmed that he will seek a loan exit from Eastlands if he has not been given a first-team opportunity before the transfer window reopens in January.
The 34-year-old Republic of Ireland international has had to act as back-up to Joe Hart so far this term and is not too happy with that situation.
He told The Sunday Times:"It's very, very frustrating. I know it doesn't matter what I do on the training pitch, I won't be playing at the weekend.
"If I'm flying around like Clark Kent in goals, I still won't play on Saturday. That can be demoralising.
"The club said I wasn't going anywhere and that was frustrating. We'll see what happens come January and hopefully if the situation's the same, I can go on loan and try and get some games in.
"I've never said I want to leave Man City. I believe it's a big club that in the next couple of years is going to do big things. I want to be part of that, but I also want to be playing football.
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"I wouldn't mind where a loan was and wouldn't rule out abroad if it was a good club and a good team, no disrespect to a club that's fighting relegation and getting pummelled every week – though at the minute that probably seems better than what I'm doing."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Arsenal have confirmed that Jack Wilshere has received a setback in his rehabilitation from injury, but is not necessarily sidelined for the remainder of the season.
The England international midfielder has been absent for the entirety of The Gunners’ season so far due to an ankle injury, but was expected to make a return to action in January.
Reports of a stress fracture in his foot arose in the press earlier in the week, and the north London club have confirmed the player’s bad news.
“The club can confirm Jack Wilshere has a small stress fracture to his right foot, however it is not accurate to state he has been ruled out for the remainder of the season,” a statement released on the club’s official website reads.
“The injury is in a different area to his previous surgery, and it will be reassessed in around two weeks’ time by our medical team and medical experts who have worked together throughout Jack’s recovery.
“This is a recognised complication of a complex rehabilitation process and, of critical importance, Jack’s initial injury is recovering well,” it concluded.
Wilshere will have one eye on Euro 2012 also, and realistically needs to recover well before the end of the season to stand a chance of inclusion in Fabio Capello’s England squad for the tournament.
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Real Madrid won their first Copa del Rey trophy since 1993 after defeating Barcelona 1-0 in extra-time on Wednesday.Jose Mourinho’s squad also won their first trophy since 2008 at Valencia’s Mestalla, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s terrific header in the 103rd minute.
The fixture between Spain’s two biggest clubs is dubbed ‘El Clasico’, but this match was far from a classic, with Mourinho’s side stifling Barcelona with their excellent defence and a crowded midfield.
Barcelona enjoyed most of the early possession but could not break down a stubborn Real side, who had the majority of the first-half chances.
The best of those came 10 minutes before half-time, with Barcelona’s back-up goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto, who was called up to replace Victor Valdes, required to make a low save to deny Ronaldo.
Real nearly opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time when Mesut Oezil’s ball was nodded onto the post by the impressive Pepe, who could only watch as the ball bounced wide after hitting the woodwork.
Barcelona improved early in the second half and Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta went close to scoring the opener, while Pedro did find the back of the net but had his goal correctly disallowed for offside after Messi had set him up, but played the pass marginally late.
Angel Di Maria, who was fantastic for the victors, had a chance to win the game in normal time, but his strike was well saved by Pinto as the match went to extra-time.
The goal eventually came thanks to fine work down the left hand side from Marcelo and Di Maria, with the Argentine producing an inch-perfect cross for Ronaldo, who met the ball with a powerful header to delight the Madrid half of the crowd.
Barcelona tried in vain to equalise and although Di Maria was sent off for a second yellow card in the dying stages of the second period of extra time, they were too late to grab a winner.
The result was the first defeat in a final for Pep Guardiola since he took over as coach of the Catalan giants in 2008 and could give Real a psychological edge heading into their two-legged Champions League semi-final with Barca, beginning on April 27.
Caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald blamed "silly" goals for Aston Villa's Europa League exit at the hands of Rapid Vienna.
Villa lost 3-2 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate to go out of the tournament at the qualifying stage at the hands of the same opposition for the second successive year.
The Midlands club twice led through Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey, but the match turned on a penalty miss by captain Stiliyan Petrov.
"I am very disappointed. We were in total control at 1-0 and gave away a silly equaliser," said MacDonald.
"We also missed a penalty and gave away a silly third goal. We made three silly mistakes and we are out of the tournament.
"You can't legislate for individual mistakes from international players.
"It is a big blow for Aston Villa to go out of Europe again. A lot of the lads were disappointed to go out last season.
"It is a major blow for them. They are professional footballers and proud of what they do."
Meanwhile, MacDonald refused to discuss his own position following suggestions that an early European exit on the back of Sunday's 6-0 thrashing by Newcastle United had harmed his chances of getting the job on a full-time basis.
He took interim charge of first-team affairs following the departure of Martin O'Neill on the eve of the new season.
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"My own position is not uppermost in my thoughts 10 minutes after a game," he added.
"It is not about me but how the players and the football club react on Sunday.
"I have never been told I was first choice and expect nothing to change until after the game on Sunday."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
He may be a World Cup winner, raking in £200,000 a week, but I cannot help feeling sorry for Fernando Torres. You have to wonder whatever next for a player who cost £50 million – and, yes, I’m already talking about his Stamford Bridge career in the past tense. This is what happens when a billionaire foreign owner decides to sign a player on a whim, without consulting his manager.
Carlo Ancelotti was sacked as Chelsea chief less than four months after Torres joined the club on transfer deadline day. If the Italian had been able to sign the forward he wanted, the Blues may well have won the title – and the boss might still be in a job. We used to extract the urine out of club directors when I was at Tottenham but at least they were local businessmen with a genuine feeling for their club, a basic understanding of the game, and they would certainly never have tried to tell manager Bill Nicholson who to sign.
As it is, Torres is left in limbo under a new manager who doesn’t fancy him and appears to be doing well enough without him. It no longer even seems much of an issue if the most expensive player in British football history doesn’t start a match – it’s simply expected. Torres was never worth all that money even at his peak and, although only 26, he was past his best when he signed for Chelsea. But he still has plenty of attributes and could do a decent job for a decent team. He just doesn’t have that extra yard of pace or the special sharpness that separates the greats from the merely very good players.
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I don’t believe footballers are ever really weighed down by their price tags – it certainly never bothered me when I made a couple of British transfer-record moves. But when a club has paid well over the odds for you, they are hardly likely to sell you at a massive loss, and that means Torres could have to see out a substantial part of the remaining four years of his contract before he is let go. Perhaps there will be a loan move in a year or so, then maybe a cut-price switch to Spain a little further down the line.
Torres seems destined to be remembered alongside the likes of Justin Fashanu at Nottingham Forest, Garry Birtles at Manchester United and Steve Daley at Manchester City, three of the first £1 million footballers – all of whom flopped badly. If Torres was vastly over-priced, then what about the fella Liverpool drafted in on the same day, Andy Carroll?
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Liverpool would never have spent £35m on the big target man if they had not just received £50m for Torres, so to do so was the economics of idiocy. It was as if the money had simply burnt a hole in their pockets. Carroll is a good old-fashioned centre-forward, without the good old-fashioned goals tally, and he doesn’t seem to fit in to Liverpool’s style of play. I can remember another big centre-forward, Tony Hateley, having a similarly frustrating move to Anfield in the ’60s. He scored a few goals but simply didn’t fit in there.
He had also been to Chelsea where the manager, Tommy Docherty, claimed his passes should have been addressed “to whom it may concern”. But Hateley was able to move around and get a fair few goals before his son Mark became one of only three England players to score at Rio’s Maracana Stadium. John Barnes was another and modesty forbids me from mentioning the third!
Whether Torres gets to play at the Maracana in the 2014 World Cup, or whether he even makes the Spain squad for the Euro finals, looks highly unlikely right now. And we should never forget that, however much money you are earning, any footballer worth his salt is only ever really concerned about playing football.