Day: July 8, 2011

Doing It For A Good Cause: 08/07/2011

Posted by | Jul 8, 2011 | |

It’s time, then, for our weekly write-up of football-related charities and charity events that are deserving of your time and money. This week, we feature a charity match, a new project from Kick It Out and an initiative to help non-league football clubs fill their matchday programmes. As ever, we would ask you to remember that if you would like your charity or good cause mentioned on this page, drop us a line via the Contact page at the top of this page and we will get straight back to you. Northern Leagues United: We all know that there are plenty of people out there that can write about football, but can these people play it as well as they describe it? This is a question that may or may not be answered on Saturday, with a charity match to be played at Birtley Town FC tomorrow afternoon between a team of football writers that will feature Simon Bird from The Mirror, Mark Douglas (The Journal and Sunday Sun), Joe Daunt (Metro Radio), Simon Pryde (BBC Radio Newcastle), Richard Mason and Scott Wilson (Northern Echo), Iain Macintosh (The New Paper and Sports Illustrated), Mike Grady (Morning Star), Grant Russell (STV), Ian Cusack (When Saturday Comes), Stuart Fuller (The Ball is Round), Jeff Livingstone and David Hartrick (In Bed With Maradona) and a team made up of the supporters of...

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The Calderwood Conundrum

Posted by | Jul 8, 2011 | |

During the summer, when time is often measured in the latest player transfer rumours rather than in minutes passed, we have become acclimated to the concept of a player having his head “turned” and wanting to leave his current club of employ. In the English Premiership, Arsenal have endured seemingly countless summers of speculation on when club captain Cesc Fabregas will leave for Spain in a genetic quest to have his DNA properly aligned at the Camp Nou. Tottenham Hotspur are currently enjoying a similar spot of bother with Luka Modric feeling a crick in his neck,  looking across London from White Hart Lane to the European nights that are regularly hosted at Stamford Bridge. These and other potential higher profile player movements garner the majority of silly season coverage amidst those less sensational ones that likely comprise a bulk of the overall transfer activity during any given summer. The tie that binds the tales of Fabregas, Modric, and others is typically written that a new club gives them greater opportunity to develop their games or win more silverware. Put simply, the grass that they have been playing on looks dry and brown compared to the luscious green variety on the other side. Somewhat peculiarly, of all the digital ink spilled over Scottish club Hibernian’s transfer season thus far, most of it continues to be splashed out regarding the club’s manager rather than its...

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