Cremation Urn In The Shape of A Football

Class. You can’t buy it,  you know. But what you can buy for the Arsenal or Man Utd fan in your family ( you know the type…never been to Manchester or North London in their life) is a cremation urn in the shape of a football.

I know, I know. You’re probably wondering why no one has thought of it before. But luckily a funeral company in Vienna has finally done it.

A snip at £281.00 each.

Strikers That Don’t Step Up To The Plate

So, a couple of English teams went out of Europe last night on penalties. No big surprises there.

But there’s one thing I hate about penalty shoot outs is who steps up to take one. All too often strikers ( you know, the people that are paid to be calm in front of goal and score) bottle it and don’t even take a penalty.

Such was the case with Everton last night. Where was Andy Johnson for Everton. Surely, he should have taken one of the first couple of penalties for the Toffees ? After all, scoring goals is what he is paid to do. Phil Jagielka (who missed one) is not.

It irkes me a great deal that managers always seem to allow the players to decide whether or not they want to take a penalty. The end result is that brave players with less skill in front of goal end up taking them while certain strikers hide away at the background.

All strikers should be made to take part in penalty shootouts. Otherwise, they’re just gutless glory seekers.

Stand up and be counted, for Christ’s sake.

Gazza Sectioned…It’s All Too Sad

For those who, like me, grew up watching Paul Gascoigne playing for Spurs and England, the latest news on Gazza is just too, too sad.

It appears that, following a disturbance at a Newcastle hotel, Gazza was both arrested and then sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

This is just the latest in a long line of problems Gascoigne has suffered since his retirement from football. He is clearly not a well man and needs proper professional support and help to recover. Let’s hope that - this time - he actually gets it.

On a brighter note, let’s take a look back at one of Gazza’s many moments of genius :

The Freekick Against Arsenal in the FA Cup Semi-Final 1991. Enjoy !